Review: Hotel Lutetia, Paris (Global Hotel Alliance / The Set Collection)

This is my review of the Hotel Lutetia in Paris, part of The Set Collection.

You may remember that Rhys reviewed Hotel Cafe Royal in London a couple of months ago. This is part of The Set Collection, a small chain of very high end hotels. Whilst it has been adding new hotels recently, the historic core of the group is Hotel Cafe Royal in London, Hotel Lutetia in Paris and the Conversatorium hotel in Amsterdam.

To promote the addition of The Set Collection to the Global Hotel Alliance loyalty programme, we were offered a review stay at each of the three hotels. Hotel Cafe Royal is reviewed here and the Conservatorium hotel is reviewed here.

Just before Christmas, I headed over to Paris to try Hotel Lutetia. The hotel website is here.

The only Palace hotel on the Left Bank

Hotel Lutetia has one key selling point for the high-end traveller. It is the only ‘Palace’ hotel (a Government distinction for uber-luxury French hotels) on the Left Bank / Rive Gauche.

Or, as a Londoner would say, ‘south of the river’.

I’ve stayed in Paris over 30 times in my life, admittedly mainly for just 1-2 nights each time, but it’s only in the last decade that I’ve really started to appreciate the Left Bank. For shopping it is the Parisian equivalent of Sloane Street in London, with the same high end brands as Bond Street but in smaller, less touristy boutiques. You are just as close to the major museums as if you were staying in a luxury hotel near Opera.

Hotel Lutetia sits directly opposite, across a small park, from the Le Bon Marche department store. It was originally built in 1910 by the owner of Le Bon Marche so his customers and suppliers had somewhere to stay. It sits on Boulevard Raspail, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th arrondissement.

If you’ve ever visited the Hermes store in Paris which is inside a historic swimming pool (yes, it’s as weird as it sounds) …. this used to be the Lutetia’s pool. Don’t worry …. they built a new one!

Inside Hotel Lutetia

The hotel reopened in 2018 after a top-to-toe €200 million refurbishment, although the lovely Art Deco / Art Nouveau exterior from 1910 is fully intact.

Off the ground floor, the rooms were apparently totally reconfigured. The total dropped from 233 to 184, very impressive soundproofing added (the hotel is on the corner of two roads) and new technology introduced. It was first time I’d ever had a hotel room with a Crestron automation system installed.

There is an impressive level of craziness about what has been done here. It runs from aggressive statements of modernity (the corridors and ceilings have a reflective black laquered look which is quite blingy) to lots of low key luxury.

The desk in my room, for example, had a marble top. The bathroom, as you will see, is almost entirely marble including the bath. I was told the hotel had to be reinforced during rebuilding because the weight of all the marble was causing structural issues.

I was given a small suite on the corner of the building. This came with its own little balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower:

…. and who wouldn’t want this?

Here’s the inside of my suite (more of a Junior Suite in reality):

and from the other side:

What you can’t really see from the photos is that everything is of the highest quality. The furnishings were virtually all commissioned for the hotel. The curtains are automated, as you’d expect at this level, but what I didn’t expect was a wardrobe lightly scented with Culti fragrance!

And when you go to bed, you get this …. I’d heard about hotels that do this for regular guests but never seen it in action:

There were no shortage of welcome gifts, including champagne, fruit, pastries, fresh flowers and a huge chocolate ship in the shape of the hotel logo. I saw these being delivered to other rooms so it wasn’t done just for me.

The hotel also offers a shoe shine service in association with Berluti, which has a large boutique opposite the hotel.

Here is the ‘so much marble it’s a little crazy’ bathroom:

and

The shower is in a separate space at the back, almost out of sight in the photo above, and the loo is totally out of shot. Toiletries are by Etro.

Step out of the room and you have those incredibly atmospheric reflective black walls and ceiling:

…. and when you step out of the lifts on my floor you get this:

The lifts were moved to the exterior of the building as part of the rebuilding and are glass walled. This creates a real contrast during the day when you move from corridor to elevator.

The pool and spa

As I mentioned earlier, the historic pool is now an Hermes boutique – inside a listed pool! The hotel has built a rather cool – albeit narrow – new pool:

There is also a jacuzzi, sauna and the usual bits and pieces you’d expect. There are some smart loungers by the pool but, as its underground, it’s not really somewhere to hang out.

The shop

Hotel Lutetia has a lovely little bookshop / concept store:

Food and drink at Hotel Lutetia

As with all grand hotels, the public areas are substantial and beautiful. I believe that major changes were made during the refurbisment although you’d never guess – an internal garden was built where there wasn’t one before, for example, although it isn’t in use during the winter.

The lobby is shown in the second photograph from the top. At the rear is a library which looked impressive but was locked when I tried to go in.

Apart from the library the layout is actually very simple. You enter, the lobby is in front of you, and if you turn immediately to the left you are in a long corridor:

…. which leads to all of the bars and restaurants.

Le Saint-Germain

If you’re looking for the wow factor, you need to choose between the bar (see below) and Le Saint-Germain. This is basically the ‘all day dining’ and afternoon tea salon, featuring an astonishing painted glass ceiling. The website is here.

and

I had a lobster roll – see below – which, at €44, was decent by uber-luxury hotel standards and given the environment.

Bar Josephine

Directly across from Le Saint-Gerain is Bar Josephine, named after Josephine Baker. This is another lovely space, and worth a visit if passing. I believe that there is live jazz on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Here is a photo I took of the main bar:

…. and here is a PR shot of the broader space:

Bar Aristide

I must admit that I never expected to find something like Bar Aristide here. It is tucked away up a flight of stairs with only minimal signage.

It is a tiny bar which deliberately harks back to the early years of the 20th century. It was very busy when I went in, and given that many people had coats they were clearly locals and not hotel guests.

It’s a lot darker and moodier than my photo suggests (I took this the following morning) and the space includes a cigar lounge. Even if you are not staying at the Lutetia I’d recommend popping in here if you are nearby.

Brasserie Lutetia

Finally you have Brasserie Lutetia, which sits on the corner of Boulevard Raspail and Rue de Sèvres and is very much a neighbourhood restaurant. As well as this large indoor area, there is a conservatory on the edge of the street – I’m not sure if this is open air in summer.

Here is a PR image:

Breakfast is also served here. It is a reassuringly expensive €58, including one cooked item:

It isn’t the largest buffet but you can’t argue with the quality.

Life could be far worse than sitting on the terrace with your breakfast and watching the world go by:

For lunch and dinner, Brasserie Lutetia has a dedicated seafood bar:

…. which I tried out very happily on my first night:

Conclusion

It is surprisingly difficult to review an exceptionally high level hotel like the Lutetia. There is so much to talk about and so much I could show you but I could never squeeze it all in.

As the only Palace hotel on the Left Bank, Hotel Lutetia has a unique selling point. The sheer quality of the renovation in 2018 means that it is well worth considering, even if only to pop in for a drink in Bar Josephine or Bar Aristide.

Through Global Hotel Alliance – click for our introductory article – you can earn and redeem Discovery Dollars (GHA’s cashback currency) on your stays here.

Be aware, though, that a stay at Hotel Lutetia doesn’t come cheap. Rooms start at €1,400 per night (so on a par with rates at Raffles and The Peninsula in London) although the website does have ‘4-4-3’ deals. It is proportionately better value for a suite, with a Junior Suite offering a lot more space and starting from €1,700.

Thank you to Eliot in London and Mathilde in Paris for their help.

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